Joe Dowd and Sheila O'Byrne the Wicklow stars in road race championship
More than 250 runners lined out for the Athletics Wicklow Road Race Championships last Wednesday evening, with strong performances headlined – from a Wicklow perspective – by Joe Dowd and Sheila Byrne.
Greystones and District AC's Dowd was the first Garden County man to cross the finish line, while O'Byrne, of Parnell AC, claimed top honours in the women's race, and both athletes finished at the front of highly competitive fields.
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Irish Independent
12 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Joe Dowd and Sheila O'Byrne the Wicklow stars in road race championship
More than 250 runners lined out for the Athletics Wicklow Road Race Championships last Wednesday evening, with strong performances headlined – from a Wicklow perspective – by Joe Dowd and Sheila Byrne. Greystones and District AC's Dowd was the first Garden County man to cross the finish line, while O'Byrne, of Parnell AC, claimed top honours in the women's race, and both athletes finished at the front of highly competitive fields.
Irish Independent
03-06-2025
- Irish Independent
Magnificent May as Drogheda & District AC youngsters show their mettle
The club had athletes competing in Leinster Schools and Louth county individual and relay championships, along with Leinster relays and combined events competitions. At the Louth Juvenile Track & Field Championships there were outstanding performances from individuals and relay teams, with more than 60 athletes competing in a range of track and field events. Drogheda & District AC's final haul was 33 individual medals along with five gold and two bronze medals in the relays. Junior athlete and Leaving Cert student Louis O'Shea is new to athletics as this is his first full year of training and competing, and at the North Leinster Schools Senior Boys 400m he finished second in 50.6sec (hand-timed). Louis gained automatic qualification for the Leinster finals in Tullamore where he finished seventh with a time of 51.44sec on a very blustery day, and that run suggests that there is plenty more to come from this young man. Outstanding individual performances at the Louth Championships came from the Cunningham sisters Beatrice and Hannah. In the Girls U14 1500m Hannah finished second, running a super time of 5:10.8, while Beatrice also finished second in the U15 1500m in another great time of 5:04.89 and picked up another silver medal in the 800m with a time of 2:22.6. These were remarkable performances from these very young girls, propelling them both into the top 10 in the current Louth senior ranking list. The outstanding performances in the relays came from the Girls U11 team of Laura Clarke, Lucy Cooney, Eabha Flynn and Aine McHugh. This team had two magnificent runs when becoming Louth champions and going on to finish seventh in the Leinster final. The U15 team - comprising Bonnie Breach, Eve Russell, Emily Cooney and Dani Nolan- finished a striking sixth in the Leinster final. In the field events Drogheda & District AC have a lot of new talent emerging and at the Pre Louths Euan Kirwan finished third in the Boys U14 shot put, while in the Girls U12 turbo javelin Lucy Russell came second and Nancy Clerkin third. At the Louth Championships Nancy Clerkin continued her fine early season form when finishing second in the U12 Girls shot putt. In the U14 javelin for boys Cillian Russell placed second, and in the U13 Girls event Isabella Ojo St Paul came third. In the U15 high jump for girls there was gold medal joy for Dani Nolan, while Cormac Russell scooped third in the U19 Boys category. Two long jumpers from the club picked up bronze medals, Sam McGinn (U15) and Cormac Russell (U19). Turning to the 1500m, Aine Carroll had a very good run to win the U17 Girls race in a new personal best, and over the same distance Niamh Carroll was third in the U19 race and Eleanor McMahon (U15) placed sixth. There was more medal success in the 600m races as Eve Cunningham (U11) came second and Dearbhla Johnston placed third in the U12 event, with two other U12s - Yasman Nuri and Cian Bolton - just missing out when placing fourth. There were second places for two of Drogheda & District's 100m sprinters, Michael Iloduba (Boys U16) and Ruby Berrill (Girls U17), with Bonnie Breach third in the Girls U15 race. Over 60m Aine McHugh came second and Eabha Flynn fourth in the U11 Girls final and Dearbhla Johnston third in the U12 race, while turning to the boys there was silver for Semi Johnston (U9) and two medals in the U10 race as Jack O'Connor stormed to victory and Rocco Kermode placed third. Last but not least, Drogheda & District;s Eve Russell, Emily Garvey and Emily Cooney placed second, third and fourt respectively in the Girls U14 200m.
Irish Independent
27-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Category wins all the rage for Drogheda & District athletes at Enfield 5k
Conditions on the night were favourable, with little or no wind, and the quality field of runners were chomping at the bit as the Starter called the athletes to the line. This race always attracts the middle ground of Irish distance running, the quality club athletes, and this year was no exception, with the race being won in an impressive 14:25 by Kevin Kelly from St. Coca's AC. First home in the red vest for Drogheda & District was the flying firefighter Paul Smith who finished well up the field when taking the runner-up spot in his M45 category in an eye opening 15:37. Next in and close behind was Colin Leonard in a lively 15:53, followed by Colin Dyas who perhaps had the run of the night with his 32-second PB time of 15:58. Dyas is one to watch out for over the coming season and his upper body strength from his previous sporting career as a boxer showed in spades on the run-in to the finish. Close behind were Brian Martin in 16:00, followed by Stephen Kelly in 16:34, while Rodney Thornton ran well to cross the line in 17:09. Also running well were Colm Reilly 17:22), John Reilly (17:48) and Derek Hackett (18:41). The M70 category saw Giancarlo Orlandi take the win in 23:30, while arch rival Conor Cooney finished runner-up in 25:20. Amongst the Drogheda & District ladies, first home was Mary Leech (inset) who's coming into good form and her run of 18:55 saw her win her W50 category. Leech's training partner Yasmin Canning finished fourth in the same category in a solid 20:10. Meanwhile, one of the club's newest members - Kathryn Meade - gave a glimpse of her emerging talent when running the course in 19:32 and she's a real find for Drogheda & District AC. Orange Group coach Andrea McArdle is reaping the rewards for her dedication in training after she recorded a new PB time of 21:11, and the sub-21 time is on the cards by the end of the season. The ever present Nuala Reilly, Ireland's answer to the Duracell Bunny, showed her opponents a clean pair of heels when winning her M65 category in 24:07, while daughter Olivia ran the course in 24:14. Others who ran included Fiona Murphy (24:04) and Carmel Keenan. Just 24 hours later it turned out to be a fantastic evening for Drogheda & District AC at the Louth Relays, held in beautiful sunshine and perfect conditions for racing at the Lourdes Stadium. The club entered a remarkable 14 teams across various age groups and delivered an outstanding performance, bringing home an even more remarkable six gold medals! The club's U11 and U12 girls teams are heading to the Leinster Relays this coming weekend.
